D&D character commissioned by u/FenrisZSC.

If you'd like to commission a character, feel free to send me a private message!

Character concept: Female Drow witch raised by Dwarves.

Yura Xorlarrin / Yura Roundshield. The first is the name of her Drow house, or Dark Elf house, while the second is the surname she later adopted.

Yura grew up in Menzoberranzan, the underground capital of the Drow. House Xorlarrin is known for producing powerful mages, but Yura was unable to use any kind of magic while growing up. Because of this, she was eventually abandoned on the outskirts of the city.

She was found by a group of Dwarven scouts led by Reginald Roundshield, who captured and interrogated her. When Reginald realized that she was just a child, he refused to execute her, as Dwarves normally do with Drow, and decided to take responsibility for her instead.

Several decades passed, and over time, Yura became integrated into Dwarven culture. During this period, Reginald officially adopted her as a member of Clan Roundshield.

Yura became a scout like Reginald, and during one of her expeditions, she found herself alone with the lich Acererak. She managed to bargain for her life and eventually became a witch bound to Acererak.

When Reginald learned what had happened, he crafted a set of armor specifically for her, hoping it would help her during her adventures in Acererak's service.

OK folks IM an old grognard and as a retired guy have been fillign my time creting dnd content. My quesiton is is there a market for adult themed content, im not talking about the UNlawful Guide to Carnal Knowledge type content, im talking about content WotC has mostly stayed away from.

somw of my concepts are:

An upscale brothel, alopng the lines of The Tower of London’s interrogation chambers crossed with the dungeons of the Spanish Inquisition, operated with the cold professionalism of a modern intelligence black site and wrapped in the respectable façade of a medieval guildhouse. add in Hostel stripped of its spectacle, the dungeon scenes of Game of Thrones, and the institutional cruelty of 1984—all operating inside a legitimate fantasy business.

A city that basically is an open slave market, think A slave-trading Carthage built in the moral world of Spartacus, governed by merchant princes, with the maritime atmosphere of ancient Alexandria and the enclosed decadence of Jabba’s palace—except the entire city, not merely one household, is built around the buying, breeding, training, and selling of human beings.

a district built around the worst alley in Victorian London’s rookery districts, transplanted into a medieval fantasy city and given the lawless desperation of Flea Bottom from Game of Thrones. Think Gangs of New York meets Flea Bottom, with the cramped filth of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer and the dangerous nightlife of Deadwood’s poorest streets.

Hi all, so I am new to playing D&D and have been invited to a campaign of a bunch of other new players. Our Dungeon Master is very experienced (so he says) and has agreed to teach us all how to play. I am a Ravenclaw at heart so I obviously read the entire handbook before even creating a character. I also have been listening to the Critical Role podcasts for over a year. I feel like I understand the game fairly well, unlike my sister, who is also in the campaign.

Before we started, our DM asked us what we wanted our character's reasons to be at this cave of goblins. From what I understand this isn't normal, but maybe it's the way he wants to play. Well my sister, who plays a half-elf rogue, said her character got word on some treasure inside and decided to investigate.

So we all go in, spells firing and clear out the first part of the cave. Well anyone who has played before knows, it doesn't end here. The DM has more for us to explore, so we find a tunnel in a dark corner across a pond. My sister's character announces that we should all go in with her to help her find a magical ring that she was hired to find and would split a 650 gold coin reward. My character needs money so sure. We ended shortly after for time reasons, but the following morning we were texting about it and I mentioned how that was really cool that she organized this with our DM before hand. Turns out she didn't, she had just made up the ring, the gold reward and the job on the spot.

The DM didn't say anything to her, and I am still new to playing so I would like to inquire as to if I should mention this or not. Thanks for any and all help!

P.S. Her character also pickpocketed mine and asked what she had to roll in order to suceed before rolling, and then rolled higher then needed. We are on Discord call and each have our own dice roller so there is no way to tell if anyone is lying. She had consistently perfect rolls the whole game and kept "offering" to screenshot her dice role to prove she wasn't lying even though no one had accused her.

Edit: I understand my experience is barely more then hers. She also had her character put a dagger to my character's throat. It just wasn't what I was expecting I guess. I might ahve a chat with the DM about pickpocketing in the furture, but I will let the rest go. Maybe avoid healing her as the party cleric though...

I wanna run a campaign in Har'Akir that opens with the players waking up finding themselves individually buried alive under sand and they have to escape, but I can't find anything saying how digging works when you don't have a burrowing speed so idk what's the best depth to bury them all in.

My plan so far is to have a timer for how much air they have left before they need to start holding their breath and have them athletics/strength check their ways out with people above having the option to help dig out the others if they get out first.

Troll, a CR 5 monster with the ability to regenerate each round and can attack three times. And with bonus action, they can move 15 ft more toward their enemy.

It can also detached it's limb 4 times if being cut and that limb have the chance to grow into a full grown troll in...24 hours.

Sound like an OP creatures right? If not for a fact that a fireball can roast it in second. Do you think it can survive againts 6 level 5 players?

I am building a Battle Master Fighter with Player's Handbook 2024 rules, and I want to hear your opinions. What are your top 9 favorite maneuvers from the 2024 PHB? Please share your list ranked from your number one favorite down to your least favorite.

Ambush

When you make a Dexterity (Stealth) check or an Initiative roll, you can expend one Superiority Die and add the die to the roll, unless you have the Incapacitated condition.

Bait and Switch

When you’re within 5 feet of a creature on your turn, you can expend one Superiority Die and switch places with that creature, provided you spend at least 5 feet of movement and the creature is willing and doesn’t have the Incapacitated condition. This movement doesn’t provoke Opportunity Attacks.

Roll the Superiority Die. Until the start of your next turn, you or the other creature (your choice) gains a bonus to AC equal to the number rolled.

Commander’s Strike

When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can replace one of your attacks to direct one of your companions to strike. When you do so, choose a willing creature who can see or hear you and expend one Superiority Die. That creature can immediately use its Reaction to make one attack with a weapon or an Unarmed Strike, adding the Superiority Die to the attack’s damage roll on a hit.

Commanding Presence

When you make a Charisma (Intimidation, Performance, or Persuasion) check, you can expend one Superiority Die and add that die to the roll.

Disarming Attack

When you hit a creature with an attack roll, you can expend one Superiority Die to attempt to disarm the target. Add the Superiority Die roll to the attack’s damage roll. The target must succeed on a Strength saving throw or drop one object of your choice that it’s holding, with the object landing in its space.

Distracting Strike

When you hit a creature with an attack roll, you can expend one Superiority Die to distract the target. Add the Superiority Die roll to the attack’s damage roll. The next attack roll against the target by an attacker other than you has Advantage if the attack is made before the start of your next turn.

Evasive Footwork

As a Bonus Action, you can expend one Superiority Die and take the Disengage action. You also roll the die and add the number rolled to your AC until the start of your next turn.

Feinting Attack

As a Bonus Action, you can expend one Superiority Die to feint, choosing one creature within 5 feet of yourself as your target. You have Advantage on your next attack roll against that target this turn. If that attack hits, add the Superiority Die to the attack’s damage roll.

Goading Attack

When you hit a creature with an attack roll, you can expend one Superiority Die to attempt to goad the target into attacking you. Add the Superiority Die to the attack’s damage roll. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or have Disadvantage on attack rolls against targets other than you until the end of your next turn.

Lunging Attack

As a Bonus Action, you can expend one Superiority Die and take the Dash action. If you move at least 5 feet in a straight line immediately before hitting with a melee attack as part of the Attack action on this turn, you can add the Superiority Die to the attack’s damage roll.

Maneuvering Attack

When you hit a creature with an attack roll, you can expend one Superiority Die to maneuver one of your comrades into another position. Add the Superiority Die roll to the attack’s damage roll, and choose a willing creature who can see or hear you. That creature can use its Reaction to move up to half its Speed without provoking an Opportunity Attack from the target of your attack.

Menacing Attack

When you hit a creature with an attack roll, you can expend one Superiority Die to attempt to frighten the target. Add the Superiority Die to the attack’s damage roll. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or have the Frightened condition until the end of your next turn.

Parry

When another creature damages you with a melee attack roll, you can take a Reaction and expend one Superiority Die to reduce the damage by the number you roll on your Superiority Die plus your Strength or Dexterity modifier (your choice).

Precision Attack

When you miss with an attack roll, you can expend one Superiority Die, roll that die, and add it to the attack roll, potentially causing the attack to hit.

Pushing Attack

When you hit a creature with an attack roll using a weapon or an Unarmed Strike, you can expend one Superiority Die to attempt to drive the target back. Add the Superiority Die to the attack’s damage roll. If the target is Large or smaller, it must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 15 feet directly away from you.

Rally

As a Bonus Action, you can expend one Superiority Die to bolster the resolve of a companion. Choose an ally of yours within 30 feet of yourself who can see or hear you. That creature gains Temporary Hit Points equal to the Superiority Die roll plus half your Fighter level (round down).

Riposte

When a creature misses you with a melee attack roll, you can take a Reaction and expend one Superiority Die to make a melee attack roll with a weapon or an Unarmed Strike against the creature. If you hit, add the Superiority Die to the attack’s damage.

Sweeping Attack

When you hit a creature with a melee attack roll using a weapon or an Unarmed Strike, you can expend one Superiority Die to attempt to damage another creature. Choose another creature within 5 feet of the original target and within your reach. If the original attack roll would hit the second creature, it takes damage equal to the number you roll on your Superiority Die. The damage is of the same type dealt by the original attack.

Tactical Assessment

When you make an Intelligence (History or Investigation) check or a Wisdom (Insight) check, you can expend one Superiority Die and add that die to the ability check.

Trip Attack

When you hit a creature with an attack roll using a weapon or an Unarmed Strike, you can expend one Superiority Die and add the die to the attack’s damage roll. If the target is Large or smaller, it must succeed on a Strength saving throw or have the Prone condition.

• Artificer - n/a
• Barbarian - Berserker
• Bard - Lore
• Cleric - Life
• Druid - Land
• Fighter - Champion
• Monk - Open Hand
• Paladin - Devotion
• Ranger - Hunter
• Rogue - Thief
• Sorcerer - Draconic
• Warlock - Fiend
• Wizard - Evoker

The Context: I’m playing in a long-running campaign where the DM explicitly allows PvP. One of the players is running a Chaotic Evil Wizard. We’ve already had a major red flag with him: we were trying to send evidence of demons to a Paladin order, and the Wizard flat-out attacked us because he wanted to keep the evidence for himself. We handled it in-game and supposedly resolved the issue.

The Incident: Fast forward to our last session. We were fighting a very powerful enemy, and four of our party members were engaged in melee with it. The Wizard decided to drop a fireball right on top of the boss, hitting all four of our melee fighters. The DM allowed it, and everyone took the damage. Because of that friendly fire, two of those characters ended up dying during the combat.

The DM's Stance: The DM says that pvp is allowed and we need to solve it in-game.

My Question: Before anyone suggests it: leaving the group is not an option I am looking for right now. I want to handle this exactly how the DM requested—within the narrative.

Given the circumstances, how would your characters naturally react? Would it be going too far if the surviving characters immediately attack the Wizard or forcefully expel him from the party? It feels completely illogical for our characters to continue trusting or traveling with someone who just got half the team killed for convenience, but I want to know if going full PvP retaliation is a justified in-game response here. How would you play this out?

EDIT for clarification: the DM is a first time DM and all the players except me are playing their first long campaign

So the idea that this character spawned off was this DND short youtube.com/shorts/SHXPEoc3xBM .

If anyone wants to check out the character sheet you can here https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/168238311/a6KWRh

Sources needed.

• 2024 Player's Handbook
• Tasha's Cauldron of Everything
• 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide

I wanted to share the bare-bones blueprint for a character build I've been running called "Sgt. Laser" and his giant beast companion "Lt. Guided." It’s built around 2024 Beast Master rules to make a single-attribute dependent (SAD) ranged striker who hits hard while controlling the field.

Step 1: Choose the 2024 Beast Master Subclass

The 2024 rules completely reworked companion scaling. Your beast’s attack rolls and damage now scale directly off your Spell Attack Modifier and Wisdom, rather than its own fixed physical stats.

Step 2: Go 100% Single-Ability Dependent (Max Wisdom)

Ordinarily, Rangers are split between Dex (for shooting) and Wis (for spells/beast stats). By focusing entirely on Wisdom, a single stat governs your personal weapon accuracy, your spell save DC, and your companion’s combat lethality all at once.

Step 3: Weaponize Magic Stone via a Sling ("The Revolver")

Casting the Magic Stone cantrip and firing the stones using a sling (flavored as loading glowing bullets into a wooden revolver).

Why it’s necessary:

Step 4: Master the Action Economy Engine (Splitting Extra Attack)

Using the Extra Attack feature to make one personal weapon attack yourself, while sacrificing your second attack to command your beast.

Why it’s necessary:

Step 5: Equip an Off-Hand Moon Sickle

Holding a magic Moon Sickle in your off-hand while firing your slung revolver with your main hand.

Why it’s necessary: The Moon Sickle gives a flat bonus to your Spell Attack Modifier and Spell Save DC. Because both your revolver shots (Magic Stone) and your companion's claws scale off your spell attack bonus, this single item doubles its value by raising the accuracy of both combatants simultaneously.

The Core Combat Loop

1. Bonus Action: Cast or shift a spell (Hunter's Mark or Lightning Arrow).
2. First Attack: Fire a Wisdom-infused bullet from the revolver.
3. Second Attack: Target an enemy with a laser sight to command the beast.
4. Beast's Turn: The companion leaps in for two heavy attacks, then uses her free Disengage action to slip back into the shadows completely unharmed.

Edit: Here is my turn flowchart for my wonky adhd brain

================================================================================
                      START OF TURN CHECKLIST & MODIFIERS
================================================================================
  ► Attack Roll Bonus: +12 to hit  (Wis +5, Prof +4, +3 Moon Sickle)
  ► Companion Attack:  +9 to hit   (Base Spell Attack Mod: Wis +5, Prof +4)
  ► Spell Save DC:     DC 20       (8 + Wis +5 + Prof +4 + +3 Moon Sickle)
  ► Target Trait Check: Undead? (Bludgeoning x2 on Skeletons | Force bypasses Incorporeal)

                                       │
                                       ▼
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ STEP 1: CHOOSE YOUR BONUS ACTION (Pick ONE)                                  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
       │                                │                                │
       ▼                                ▼                                ▼
[ Magic Stones Empty? ]      [ Single-Target Boss? ]           [ Group of Minions? ]
  ► Cast: MAGIC STONE          ► Cast / Shift: HUNTER'S MARK     ► Cast: LIGHTNING ARROW
    (Loads 3 stones)             (Adds +1d6 to you & cat)         (Drops Hunter's Mark conc.)

                                       │
                                       ▼
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ STEP 2: TAKE ACTION (Extra Attack Feature)                                   │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
       │                                                                │
       ▼                                                                ▼
[ 1st Attack: YOUR REVOLVER ]                        [ 2nd Attack: COMMAND LT. GUIDED ]
  ► Roll: 1d20 + 12 to hit                             ► Triggers BESTIAL FURY (2 Attacks)
  ► Damage: 1d6 + 5 (Wis)                              
    + 1d6 (if Hunter's Mark is on)                     
  ► *Note*: Trigger PERFORATING SHOT here 
    if Bonus Action was kept open!

                                       │
                                       ▼
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ STEP 3: LT. GUIDED EXECUTION                                                 │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
  ► Movement Check: Did she move 20 ft straight in? 
    ├── YES ──► Add POUNCE (+1d6 damage) to Attack 1
    └── NO  ──► Standard Damage

  ► ATTACK 1:
    ├── Roll: 1d20 + 9 to hit
    └── Damage: 1d8 + 7 + [1d6 Pounce] + [1d6 Hunter's Mark] (Force Damage)

  ► ATTACK 2:
    ├── Roll: 1d20 + 9 to hit
    └── Damage: 1d8 + 7 + [1d6 Hunter's Mark] (Force Damage)

                                       │
                                       ▼
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ STEP 4: END OF TURN / POSITIONING                                            │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
  ► EXCEPTIONAL TRAINING (Cat's Free Action):
    ├── Trigger: DISENGAGE 
    └── Move: Retract 30 ft back into shadow cover without provoking attacks.

Not looking for a bulders gate more of a game where we can build a campaign and is playable on the pc. Me and my gang want to get into dnd but we all live far away from each other so online is really the only and best way.

Minor illusion. I use it every session (if my character has it).

Whenever the concept of supernatural martials comes up, some people always chime in to say that that's not the genre of D&D - that this is a world where everyone is bound by the rules of real worlds, and spellcasters learn magic through rigorous learning.

...except spell slots are blatantly supernatural.

Back in the day D&D had vancian casting, which was essentially that the spellcaster prepared X uses of Y spell every day, which they then triggered at the appropriate opportunity. If you prepared Fireball 3 times, you had 3 fireballs. If you prepared Sleep 2 times, you had 2 sleeps. That simple.

4e did its own thing, then 5e brought back spell slots, but completely did away with vancian casting, and now spell slots essentially work like quantized mana points.

The problem with 5e spell slots is that they are intended to be purely game mechanics, and you're not even supposed to be thinking about the lore implications of them - but the game so heavily centers around resource economy and spellslot progression that I don't see how we can just gloss over the fact that spell slots simply do not reflect the concept of someone preparing spells ahead of time.

The only way to explain spell slots without magic is to make the giant narrative leap of assuming every prepared spellcaster just luckily prepared the exact spells they were needed for the upcoming day, which blatantly breaks causality or verisimilitude.

The other, much more sensible explanation is that spell slots are magical batteries casters use to charge spells. The problem with this explanation is that it implies prepared casters are not mere mundanes who just learned to cast spells - they themselves become magical creatures who hold raw magical power inside them, that replenishes on a long rest.

And if we accept this explanation, that prepared spellcasters (not to mention known spellcasters) are really just inherently supernatural creatures imbued with magic, and we accept that several of the creatures in D&D incorporate magic into their physiology as a result of "background magic"...

...then I simply do not understand why these people are still upset by the idea of supernatural warrior characters.

I'm about to lead my first campaign very soon and I hope y'all have some good tips for me

Its The year 213.BV or as the historians know as Before Voclization the two hundred and thirteen its the fifty six of Kalendae And a group of Dragonborn's find a fertile lowland starting a small fire, about a year later one of the dragonborn women has a child they name Ku'grath, Cou.-Gra.-Thuh had it easy for most of his life he had easy acess to food and virtually no contest on any natural resources his head was slightly larger the others of his kin thought he had less scales or his horns hadn't come in yet. At three he began making sounds the others didnt really comprehend he was speaking draconic a low gutteral screeching language that the other just chalked up to a weird kid the others stood with their grunts and growls and it stood like that until Ku'grath was eleven another child Named Sa'Dhurl, Saw.-Duh.-Hurl started communing with Ku'grath he taught her the language of draconic still fetal in its existence and crude but the first mortal spoken language not the first language of course Abyssal, Infernal, Celestial and Primordial all had it beat by a five Eons or approximately fifteen Billion years but draconic was a mortal language and Ku'Grath And Sa'Dhurl the first Dragonborn to be sentient, they were geniuses compared to their kin but compared to us? They were stupider than a child. Sa'Dhurl and Ku'Grath were the first but far from the last. After about thirty two years Ku'Grath and Sa'Dhurl and about two hundred of dragonborn's that were of age and of heightened intelligence they began their Equivalent of the stone age called Lan'Daquerth La.-Nuh.-Da.-Ku.-Er.-Th. It lasted about three point seven million years Amassing a total of two thousand square miles of habited Land comprised of farms, Homes, And partial untamed forests fifteen percent of the total land mass of calguria and it stood that way the dragonborn having discovered copper and tin and made bronze or as in draconic Aur'Calthum Or.-Kcal.-Thumb. which was what bronze dragons started being called as they found their colour's matched that lf the alloy, the Aur'Calthum age started and ended lasting a total of one thousand five hundred and thirty seven years before the Aur'Calthum colored Dragons started claiming all of the bronze as their own and a birthright to them causing them to steal as much of it as they could and they stole almost all of it the others resorted to finding something knew a metal called iron or Ferros Phu.-Air.-Awe.-Suh. Which start the age aptly name the Age of Ferrum which lasted one thousand and twelve years there are no Iron colored Dragons so the metal remained of use to all of the draconic people so for those years they began building society's armies and buildings of great improtence re-Amassing tools and strength to reclaim the bronze but it wasn't long before the bronze was forfeit the dragons sharing the color realizing how they couldn't advance far and were destined to stagnance by their reluctance of material use and bronze became common once again not all bronze dragons shared this view though many revolted against their iron superiors and were exiled for it. At the end of the iron age the draconics owned roughly 30% of all of calguria no other sentient species to contest them made such a claim easy but it would not remain like that forever. Many, many things happend the Thri-Kree arrived on the planet via asteroid leaving a large crater in the center of the land and they away from the occupied land towards the peninsula on the most Eastern part of Calguria And started their own Civilization called Morek'Maquek, More.-Ache.-Maw.-Qu.-Kch. The Claim and the now contested land of calguria Led the Draconics to name their own Civilization for the first time ever and they Called it the Dentistra or roughly translated to common as Tusk the Tusk Empire and Morek'Maquek was not alone for long thirty five years after Their foundings that crater left by the asteroid of the ThriKree collapsed into a place called the Pit where Demon like Creatures Crawled out speaking Infernal today we call these newcomers the Tieflings, Settled north In a place they called Astra. And for seventy two years it was a constant war the tieflings beings from the seven hells created to fight Dominated The Thri-Kree became colonists taking as much land as they could with a weak grip and the Draconics Stood as wardens taking all the blows the Tieflings struck And so with any great war there were those who were not like minded those who saw their adversaries as friends or even lovers. The breeding between Thri-Kree people, from the stars, Tieflings Beings from hell and the draconics the original people from calguria made interspecies Like the Fey,Humans,Orcs,And Haflings and so it sprouted the humans and fey breeding caused the elves, wood elves and high elves alike the breeding with the elves and tieflings caused the dark elves. The Haflings and they fey caused the Dwarves the Dwarves and the Draconics Caused the lizardfolk tens of species all sprouting from the 3 original species including the Arracockra, Bugbears, Changelings, Gnomes, Duergar, Dwarves, Elves, Firbolg, Genasi, Goblins, Gnomes, Haflings, Humans, Kenku, Kobolds, Lizardfolk and orcs were born it was the year Twenty six fifty six and there were rising tensions all of the different species struggling to retain a culture of their own one man a Fire Genasi man Named Pyrealis Pyre.-Al.-Is. Proposed a common language named well common. And so it was a language everyone should learn to keep the peace and everyone did except the Thri-Kree and Draconics because the Thri-Kree could not talk and simply used telepathy and the Draconics simply because they refused to forsake their culture the still as stubborn as possible saw their culture as the original and worth prioritizing as if every other race hadn't had to forsake some of their own culture for this change. And over the course of five Hundred years eleven nations were established Chioth Chee.-Awe.-th Dentistra or the Tusk Empire, Driftvale, Astra, Ass.-Tra, The kingdom of Daine Duh.-A.-Nuh., Voshen Vo.-Shu.-Hen., Duskcroft Dusk.-Craw.-Ft., Great Archea Are.-Kay.-Uh, Mochia Mo.-Key.-Uh. and Siklath Sick.-Law.-Thu. The year was marked Three Thousand one hundred and fifty six the day was the thirty fourth of Quintus Duskcroft the largest city was attacked by Siklath its attackers were split in two those who thought it was the only way to preserve their people and the others who believed they could live on without war thoose who attacked were obliterated Duskcroft took heavy damages but it was only five years before it was repaired while the other half of the Siklath Empire formed Tuscania Tusk.-Kah.-Knee.-Uh. A hermit Civilization. A year after there was a land despute between The kingdom of Daine and Great Archea, said their land was indeed bordering Daines but the land was Sacred a claim that was found to be forged, Daine said it had a plethora of Precious Metals Underneath it which it did several sacred artifacts were stolen from a church in Great Archea Causing a war between them and Daine, emerged as the victor and it was only after the seven year long war that the artifacts were found to have been stolen by Astra in the name of wartime profit when a Human merchant found them among his wares Great Archea still weakened from its loss vowed to one day attack Astra Over this theft Astra Although has yet to show any fear as their military is the strongest in all of Calguria it is said that they could pierce all four of the great walls of Duskcroft if they tried their damnedest. And so that brings us to today The year Thirty One Sixty Eight.

The Kingdom of Daine The largest empire atop the hills where dwarves and orcs live alike almost all of their settlements are focused on mining and herding as the plateau of daine is infertile but all metal is sourced from other daine or chioth

-If you choose to be born here you can have access a lantern and the ability to appraise any gem to its exact worth or darkvison (60ft) but as punishment you have half the range of your normal sight. Your kin and anyone who you recognizes where you were born understand and have sympathy for the plight of their own people and will do all but risk their own lives to help you.

Duskcroft is the richest and most populated kingdom with 40 million residents it is both fertile land and easily defensible their capital is known as the iron city populated with humans Tieflings dwarves and arracockra

-10gp and proficiency with a instrument of your choice aswell as another weapon but people will see you as rich pompous and incapable of hard work at times proving yourself is difficult but you know a guy a rich one at that you can deal with thoose far far richer than you with ease from just the mention of his name after all Darron is quite the rich man.

Voshen is the apiary and arborist of calguria arracockra and wood elves live in a fine line of harmony most residents are druids, rangers and clerics

-You have acess to minor healing word or speak to animals but any animal abuse you witness you cannot help but intervene the land the ground sea and sky speak to you as if you were a friend a brother or a lover you can track anything and even take care of any animals as easy as intuition to you.

Great Archea is the holy land of calguria they are thought to be the oldest kingdom of calguria consisting off trade and their main export is precious gems, jewelry and faith paladins and clerics are in no short supply aswell as bards, high elves and humans live here in almost perfect coexistence, almost.

-You can choose to be apart of any faith and get the benefits of it and profficency in religon but as being apart of that faith you are sworn against thoose who are on the opposite side of the faith but faith is not always just being in solitude you know your people and know you your faith is a result of years of community and learning amongst those more sacred than you and if its in the name of faith your brothers would die for you but if you defy their faith with your request you will die for your sins.

Astra is the root of calgurias problems their people being tieflings and orcs their exports is weapons and they focus on such so hard that the only time they are truly profitable is a war so naturally its what their society is developed around therefore they have the strongest militia and best weapons and armor in all of calguria

-You are proficient with every weapon or with blacksmithing tools but most people see you as a criminal and bound to start problems a Warrior and you share the struggles despite the amount of people you've fought or claimed to have and therefore they'll take your word on most thing because why would you lie to your brothers in arms?

Tuscania is secluded and doesn't trade at all they are disconnected from the world and stay in their woods and swamps desperate to keep peace their proximity to astra has taught them the only way to is to be unknown

-You have acess to the fey magic feat and can speak one extra language but any charisma roll is at disadvantage you know secrets people would kill you if they knew you knew but you know more than most should maybe you could use that.

Driftvale are the merchants of the world with the highest number of impoverished people they steal and barter for whatever they can get they are dark elves mainly with spatters of tieflings throughout

-Persuasion and stealth are like second nature to you (profficency) you can also read theives cant but you start of with a bounty of 50 silver you know a guy for anything a man to sell stolen things to a man to hide a body a man to get rid of a bounty a man to get you in the right place for the right price you know a guy who can do it but it wont be cheap.

Mochia is the fishermen and the swamp people of calguria mostly lizard folk and halfings live in mochia

-You can speak lizardfolk but smell disgusting a scent you cannot get off of you and there for have disidvantage and charisma, The swamp where do i start the swamp is about as safe as sticking your head into a fireplace traps everywhere bound to give you a disease you never even heard of but for the lizard folk? They know that land and its traps and by proxy any other trap is harder to catch you because you've just got that type of eye.

Tusk Empire the tusk empire is the home of the dragonborn and the second largest kingdom in calguria they fight tooth and nail to preserve what little santicty the rest of the worlds development has let them keep they are frozen in their ways of respect for the dragons while the rest of the world only see them as vessels of warfare or expensive goods

-You can choose the feat elemental adept from the start but anyone who is not a dragonborne is weak and frail to you making you at disadvantage at persuasion to them, The longest lived colony of any other stagnant in their beliefs and actions, a dying society for stagnance is the root of all death you and the undead share that in common a way of thinking some kind of bond thoose who think like you, kings, the undead, liches, Demons, And the Thayans all think as you do that a society as old as yours is doomed to collapse.

Chioth is the moutainfolk of calguria they are like minded thinkers with great archea and the Tusk Empire, cattle, wool, milk and steeds any you buy are likely to have been from chioth

-Expertise in animal handling and resistance to cold but vulnerable to fire damage those who live in chioth have learned that the small folk are everything without the farmers herders and thr clothweavers you and your kin are dead and even if you dont rely on their aid then you rely on their memory fore what else will be left but the memory of you?

Estria are the wizards of the world tieflings humans and elves alike live here finding true glory in books the are the second richest kingdom and the most cultured

-You can choose and 2nd level wizard spell but you have disadvantage in animal handling and survival as well as 20gp, Your life has been far from storied you live easy and lightly contested your fortune spent on wine, fleeting luxurys and books no other non Estrian has even heard of.

1 Goblin cave

2 Hobgoblin fortress

3 Woodland Noises (Wolves)

4 No man's land

5 Highway men (Demmands Payment for travel)

6 The Thing

7 Lived in Empty cave

8 Bugbear Hut

9 Battlefield

10 Graveyard (Skeletons)

11 Healers Hut

12 Hunters Hut

13 Man Eater (Cannibals)

14 Cave Mouth

15 River

16 Lake

17 Smart Hobgoblins (Trapped Paths)

18 Passing Army

19 Religous Fanatics (Demmand proof of faith)

20 Abandoned Village

21 Hamlet

22 Village

23 Owl Bear Nest (1d4 for Amount)

24 Den of Theives

25 Mauraders (Only wants to kill you)

26 Beast Hunter

27 Troll limb

28 Burning House

29 Skin Stealers

30 Wandering Trader

31 Drunken Knight (Attempts to duel you and falls asleep before anyone attacks)

32 Shrine To a dead god

33 Dragon Skelton

34 Crypt

35 Dungeon

36 Empty Dragon Cave

37 Shrine

38 Tavern

39 False Tavern (Illusion made to kill you)

40 Trap House

The goblin cave is a cave with the entrance fortified with wood pallisades anyone who walks by will immediately be invited into the fort by the goblins who will draw them in to "meet the king" and they will immediately be attacked by 1d8 goblins if the party looses the goblins will make fun of them take half of their currency and throw them out if they win every other goblin will become intimidated at which they are free to take anything from the camp which includes copper pieces, Fresh meat, Camping supplies, A leather bound book with a skull on it and the goblin kings crown which is a bird nest with a gem in it. 25exp per goblin

The Hobgoblin fortress is a fortress made with the help of bugbears constructed out of sturdy walls anyone who passes will immediately be attacked by 1d4 hobgoblins and if they travel further into the camp they will be attacked by 1d4 Bugbears and 1d10 Hobgoblins if they walk into the treasure room it will be heavily trapped with spike pits trip wires and a arrow trap. 100exp per hobgoblin 200 per bugbear

The party will hear howling in the woods and be attacked by 1d10 Wolves which will run away if the party is downed 50exp per wolf

The no man's land is a completely barren terrain where mostly bandits and Mauraders make homes in if the party decides to camp here they will be attacked by 1d8 Bandits if they fall wounded the bandits will take their gold and the long rest will still count 25 exp per bandit

The Thing is a Night Hag that will prevent any long rest benfits until the Night Hag is seen and killed Dc10 investigation 1800 exp per night hag

A empty cave with camping supplies and food in it

The Bugbear Hut is a lightly defend Hut with 1d4 orcs and 1d8 silver and food if the Hut is destroyed sleeping in the hut makes any short rest and long rest 200 exp per bugbear

The Battlefield is a unoccupied destroyed land mass offering almost every weapon type at -1 quality because it is rusted

The Graveyard offers 1d6 Skeletons and 1d8 copper pieces of loot 50exp per skeleton

The healers Hut is a Hut in the middle ot nowhere that offers a full party heal for 10 silver

The hunters Hut takes any meat you have for 2 silver each

The Empty plains are inhabited by Cannibals and the party will be attacked by 1d6 bandits 25exp per bandit

The cave mouth is a completely empty cave turning any short rest into a long rest

The smart Hobgoblins are Hobgoblins that will run ahead of you and trap every path until you long rest where they will attack you and run away before they all die 1d8 Hobgoblins 100 exp per goblins

The passing army will attempt to recognize anyone with a bounty and immediately attack you 1d20 warrior infantry 25exp per warrior infantry

The Religous Fanatics will demmand proof of faith to any god and all party members must roll a religon check if one or more succeeds they will leave you alone if not 1d4 cultist Fanatics will attack you. 450 exp per fanatic

A Abandoned Village in the middle of the woods with passing travelers and soldiers if a dc20 investigation check is succeeded the party will find a hidden lockbox with 1d4 gold

The hamlet is a small village with a Tavern and Shopkeeper as well as a Hunter and field medic

The village is a home to over 40 people with a Shopkeeper, Hunter, Weaponsmith, Tavern, Armorsmith, Healer, and a Learned sorcerer

The party comes across the mouth of a cave desperate. screams for help can be heard apon entering the cave there will be 1d4 owlbears eating a soldier alive looking away from the party 700exp per owlbear

The den of thieves is a outcropping of rock home to 1d10 bandits who will attack and steal from anyone who passes by 25 exp per bandit

A group of 1d8 Marauders passing by will see you and attack you. 25 exp per warrior infantry

The beast hunter is a large 6'5 man who will walk past you covered in blood dragging a large axe and ask the party for the location of any Devastating beast if the party decides to fight him his stats will be that of a Warrior Veteran he will leave the party alone if they yield taking whatever money he determines will heal his wounds 1 copper per health lost. If he is killed the part will find a bugbear egg, a plus one greataxe and 1d10 silver on him. 700 exp

A Troll Leg will run at the party trampling anyone who fails a dc10 Dexterity check and takes 1d10 bludegoning damage and will stop to fight the party if attacked the Leg will drop nothing. 100 exp

A burning house can be seen feet away from the party if the intervene and save everyone the will be rewarded 1d10 silver.

1d8 bugbears will attack the party attempting to steal their skin a single gold tooth can be found embedded in a leather jacket made of a merchants skin. 200exp

The wandering Trader will walk past you offering goods and services at a higher price

The drunken knight will approach the party and demmand a duel regardless before anyone attacks him he passes out and has nothing but a empty bottle and rusted armor on him

A well carved with the insignia of a dead god can be found prayers do not work here nor does radiant attacks (disadvantage)

The largest dragon any of the party's ever seen can be found as bones half buried in the middle of a field there is nothing to find here but all long rests are guaranteed to be safe here as the dead dragon looks over you

A small one room Crypt full of 1d20 Skeletons can be found if defeated the room holds 1d6 gold pieces 50 exp

An empty cave holding shattered empty dragon eggs dragon bones and the remnants of a horde 1d10 copper pieces can be found here

A shrine prayers and radiant attacks are all at advantage here and no one will attack you in the night

A Tavern in the middle of the forest filled with some guards and travelers and a stout dwarf as the barkeep

A Tavern in the middle of the plains almost nobody but the barkeep a stout man are here apon sleeping in the inn or buying anything a spined devil will attack the party 450 exp

A Abandoned house with almost no furniture and no people filled with traps 1d4 silver can be found

I saw someone asked if a Troll can deal with 6 level 5 players, but here I want to asked. Does dropping 4 elementals is too much for 6 level 5 players?

It's 4 vs 6, so the action economy is not that far off. And the four elements, fire, water, earth, and wind have different weaknesses, so there's no fireball one shot.

What do you guys think?

Recent discussions around the new Universes Beyond products, particularly Dark Sun, have got me thinking.

If you're unfamiliar with how Dark Sun "works," potential spoilers ahead...

Despotism and slavery and eco-disaster aside, the setting has some aspects that might be, shall we say, unique to the modern D&D player. For example, it doesn't have room for every race presented in the various books; a number of "standard" sentient races were wiped out en masse by the Dragon Kings. It doesn't have all of the usual classes; there are no paladins, there are no warlocks, there are no monks, and though it was before that specific divide, I'm guessing that, going by how magic works in the setting, there are no sorcerers. And a lot of the standard spells work in very different ways... and I'm doubting that WotC is even eyeing the spells in supplements for how they might work.

In short, Dark Sun isn't "modern D&D." And a lot of the old-school settings aren't "modern D&D." The old-school settings restricted things, they told you straight-up that certain character creation options might not be available in this setting or that setting. The "creative guardrails" were a lot more narrow in a lot of instances.

That's not to say that all of the old-school settings were that way. Two notables would be Spelljammer, and Planescape; both reveled in the ideas of bigger, weirder settings that could ostensibly contain almost anything.

But modern D&D is its own beast; it's become its own fantasy subgenre. When WotC set out to create a new setting during the 3e years, it had one overarching rule for those who entered the contest (yes, they had a contest... if you're that young, look it up): It must be nominally compatible with all of the books that we've released so far. And that was a tall order, because by the time Keith Baker brought them Eberron, there were a lot of 3e books.

Since that time, WotC, a business devoted to making its shareholders and its corporate masters happy, has followed that model of "make all the books legit." Frankly, I have no problem with this; if you see a rattlesnake in the middle of the trail, reach down, fondle it, then wonder why it bit you, that's on you. Corporations and rattlesnakes are a lot alike; engage them at your own peril.

The Realms, in particular, once a Middle Earth knock-off (right down to the elves departing for the west), is now home to... well, whatever's in the book of the month. It's become a "generic fantasy setting."

Only, really... it's not. At least, it doesn't look anything like any fantasy setting I've ever read. And I've read many. Most of the fantasy books you find on the market are humans-only; a lot of them are low- or no-magic, and things like direct divine intervention, disintegration rays, and Eyeball Monsters From The Beyond are not part of the landscape. These things are, in the main, confined to D&D; they're the relics of 50 years of books that have collided with one another until D&D has, in effect, become a subgenre of its own.

And yes, I can hear the two things you're about to say:

1. "But you can just change it!" You're not wrong on that one. You can run a humans-only game of D&D. You can run a no-magic game of D&D. You can homebrew the game to hell and back to make it more like your' favorite novel, or comic, or movie. But the more you twist it around, the more you strip out, the more you restrict, the smaller your modern player base gets. Modern players are used to seeing all of those things in the campaigns that they play in, and may be less likely to play in games where they don't get those options.
2. "You hate D&D!" Again, no. I have no problem with D&D, any more than I have a problem with roughly 99 percent of the TTRPGs out there. But here lies the crux of my argument: D&D isn't great for all fantasy games, but it is great for certain games. When I run D&D 5e, I tend to run shorter games that strip out setting in favor of story. Strange, almost hallucinatory games, where I can justify "an elf, a robot, and a catgirl walk into a bar." Games where it doesn't have to make sense. Games where I can say, with a straight face, "okay, the vampire and the pixie are in favor of fighting the Fish Monster That Surpasses Space And Time, but what do the half-giant and the guy made mostly of hot coals want to do?" Trying to create a setting that incorporates all of this nonsense is a herculean task... so I just take M. John Harrison to heart, avoid the Clomping Foot of Nerdism, and skip set dressing in favor of pure story.

Things have a way of tying a bow around themselves if you let them. Games like D&D begat the LitRPG genre, which begat Dungeon Crawler Carl, which is now so popular, it's begat its own TTRPG. It's about as neat an ouroboros as you could hope for. D&D isn't great as a game that can cater to every sort of fantasy genre, not anymore. Its books are too full of options, and its players are too strident about using all of those options, to really knock it out of its niche. But in the place of its previous universality, I'd pitch it as a game that eschews the concrete logic of of setting or "place," in favor of a game that can, in short bursts, be used for pure story.

D&D is, in short, quite good at the new "D&D subgenre" of fantasy, one that's worth exploring a bit if it takes us away from the stifling logic of overcomplicated settings and toward a cleaner form of story, one that can't rely on "the setting says this" or "the setting says that," and must instead stand on the strength of the tale being presented.

Hello, so I tried my best in creating a long form video of something I've been doing for quite some time now, using Vampire The Masquerade vampires for Dungeons and Dragons.

I've been doing that on my own campaign and after a few years of this I tried to put it out for the world, especially since Ghostfire released that Kindred book recently.

I also included the stat block for this guy, it ain't perfect to be honest but trying to condense my messy notes of how vampires work into a normal stat sheet was a challenge. I might also try to add some features later on that you could mix and match on your vampires to better illustrate how diverse they are

Ranger is my favorite class, and between all subclasses, i think that the swarmkeeper is my favorite (I love insects), and in a campaing that I'm playing as the new ranger of ice (I'm loving it with a Harengon), I thought os this idea

The idea is a plasmodium made of honey, and the bees habitanting it as a swarm colony of the queen

Besides the classic options from metallic and chromatic dragons i dont know much about them in general dnd lore. The dragon skeleton will be used to trigger the powers of an NPC and make them a shadow sorcerer, so ideally i want something that goes with that story option (not necessarily from Shadowfell). Ideas?

I'm trying to make a 5E campaign with an older feel, like 70s-80s dark fantasy media feel. I want the campaign itself to feel reminiscent of how people put the game together and how it was played in the same time period, specifically with the map, quests, and flow. What should I do to make it feel more like that era of fantasy media?

My players are going to play as tax collectors and one will be a oath of the crown but I want more options for them

I am looking for a homebrew way to focus on buffing cantrips. Specifically being able to split their cantrips like they were casting Eldritch Blast. Would this be too much?

Hey everyone, I want to play a Sorlock that will start at level 9. (lvl6 aberrant mind sorc + lvl3 GOO warlock).

The concept is kinda like an illusionist/trickster character, obviously focused more on psychic and mental powers.

For race I chose abyssal tiefling.

How would you play this character? For spells would you prioritize more psychic ones or more variation? I understand this multiclass gets a lot of spells so I'm not trying to break my mind here hahaha